3 ms·
US tax payers is fronting $28 billion a year for NIH research. There is a lot of IP coming out of that that belongs to them, and not the Chinese Communist Party
by ancorevard 7y ago
US tax payers is fronting $28 billion a year for NIH research. There is a lot of IP coming out of that that belongs to them, and not the Chinese Communist Party. There is such a thing as licensing agreements.
Again, there are many successful scientific collaborations between US and China so don't be surprised that among some of these scientists there are some with bad characters tempted to share confidential information.
- sct202 7y agoEven when the NIH funds the research, the resulting drugs/procedures/patents are rarely owned by the Federal Government anymore because of the Bayh-Dole Act.
- ancorevard 7y agoUnfortunately there is not a clear segmentation here between what NIH funds and what ultimately becomes the product available on the market. NIH often fund basic research, while others pick that up and attempt to make a drug out of it. This is super simplifying it, but it's a complex process with lots of organizations and many funding sources. In addition to public funding of NIH research, it takes a commercial company (pharma) well beyond $1 billion to get one successful drug on the market. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_of_drug_development https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_of_drug_development
- vkou 7y agoThe discoverer of insulin, Frederick Banting, 'sold' his patent for one dollar, to make that life-saving substance available to all. And yet, somehow, US pharma companies are overcharging diabetics to the tune of thousands of dollars a year for access to a 96-year-old drug. I'm sure those same pharma companies can figure out how to fleece the public in the distribution of any cancer cures that come out of China.
- woah 7y agoWhy are the taxpayers funding confidential research? If that is going on, then we’ve found the real problem. I’m ok paying for health research that will benefit me and everyone else. I’m not ok funding secret research that some mid level beaurocrat will turn into an IP money grab as soon as they step through the revolving door to the private sector.
- laf21 7y agoI believe all biomedical research conducted at the NIH is subject to the Freedom of Information Act, so I'm not sure confidential is the best term here.